hi I'm Walker from the Ruth Bancroft garden and today we're going to talk about control of sap-sucking insects particularly mealy bugs really bugs are unarmed scale insects that feed on plant juices and in addition to drawing the vigor out of your plants and disfiguring them can also be vectors for various diseases mealy bugs have a fluffy cotton like protective covering that is very distinctive and will be the tell-tale sign that you should look for when trying to identify them on your plants in terms of control of these pests there are various different methods that you can try we always recommend the first step would be an application of 70% rubbing alcohol rubbing alcohol is a very effective insecticide sometimes fungicide a product with a lot of uses and we want to emphasize the use of 70% not 91% both can be found at the drugstore 70% kills insects 90% kills plants rubbing alcohol is a great first step in the treatment process you can apply it by spray or by dabbing directly on the affected areas with a q-tip if it doesn't completely eradicate the mealy bugs at the very least it will weaken them and make them more susceptible to successive treatment methods treatment methods include mineral oils natural oils like neem pyrethrins and systemic chemical insecticides if the infestation is so bad that it requires the application of a systemic we often recommend that you just throw the plan away to avoid contaminating your collection closely-related amélie bugs scale insects have a hard waxy shell are mostly immobile and their feeding sites in the plants and are somewhat more difficult to treat than mealy bugs because of the protective shell if you notice scale on your plants the first thing to try is scraping or frying the insects off the infected areas if that doesn't work try rubbing alcohol on a q-tip if you still have an erratic a to the pests try oils the benefit of oils here is that they can smother the insect underneath its protective shell without having to penetrate another common pest you're likely to encounter on your succulent plants our Athens Athens tend to show up in the spring and fall usually vanishing from the garden in the hottest and coldest parts of the year Athens are usually found at growth points on an emerging flower stalks the good news is that they're very easy to blast away with water or wipe off with your finger if it's usually aren't a problem unless left unchecked for a very long time if blasting with water fails you can always try biological controls like ladybugs or lace wings or biological insecticides such as BT or spinosad chemical controls usually will not be necessary to pay foods the elephant in the room when discussing all of these sap-sucking insects are ants ants farm sapsuckers barring them from one host to another and feeding on the sweet honeydew that they produce if you can control ants you'll give the beneficial insects in your garden an opportunity to control the SAP suckers and it won't be such a large problem as always healthy plants are more resistant to pest infestations than weak plants to ensure that your succulents are happy provide plenty of light plenty of air movement and a free draining medium I'm Walker from the Ruth Bancroft burn if you have any questions stop by and we'd be happy to chat